Now that you are familiar with the judicial decision-making process, you will use your experience with it to write a judicial opinion.
Steps
- Reflect on your decisions in the cases of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier and M. v. State of Florida using the following questions:
- Did your opinion reflect the majority or minority opinion on each case?
- Did you tend to favor loose or strict interpretation of the laws and rights for each case?
- What factors most influenced your decision and interpretations in each case?
- Use your answers to the questions above to write a judicial opinion for each case using this Template [below]. Explain your answers to each question in detail and use information from the lesson and the court’s minority and majority opinions. Be sure to check your work for proper spelling and grammar.
Template
Judicial Opinion Template
Instructions: Replace the information in parentheses with your own work according to the assessment instructions.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
I, [your name], write this opinion to [support the majority opinion or dissent with the majority opinion] on the case of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier.
[First paragraph–Explain why your opinion reflects the majority or minority opinion. Give details of each side of the case.]
[Second paragraph–Explain whether you tended to favor loose or strict interpretation of the laws and rights in this case. Give specific examples of where you used each type of interpretation in this case. Explain your reasons for favoring one or the other.]
[Third paragraph–Describe the factors that most influenced your decision and interpretations in this case. Explain why you thought each was significant.]
T.M. v. State of Florida
I, [your name], write this opinion to [support the majority opinion or dissent with the majority opinion] on the case of T.M. v. State of Florida.
[First paragraph–Explain why your opinion reflects the majority or minority opinion. Give details of each side of the case.]
[Second paragraph–Explain whether you tended to favor loose or strict interpretation of the laws and rights in this case. Give specific examples of where you used each type of interpretation in this case. Explain your reasons for favoring one or the other.]
[Third paragraph–Describe the factors that most influenced your decision and interpretations in this case. Explain why you thought each was significant.]
